ATLANTA 


A  TWENTIETH-CENTURY 


The  Illuminated  Cover  of  this  Pam¬ 
phlet  is  a  Reproduction  of  the  Famous 
Picture  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  : 

“ ATLANTA  BY  NIGHT” 
Published  by  Harper’s  Weekly  in  the 
Issue  of  October  tenth ,  1903 ,  and 
here  Presented  by  Courtesy  of  Harper 
&  Brothers  :  :  :  :  :  :  :  : 


ISSUED  BY  THE 


c/4tlanta  Chamber^  gf  Commerce 


NOVEMBER^,  1903 


FOOTE  *  DAVIES  CO.,  PKIN  I  tKS  AINU  biiNUtKS,  A  I  LAN!  A,  UA.  49442. 


UNION  PASSENGKR  STATION 


How  Atlanta  Grew . 


< 


THE  Atlanta  of  to-day  is  a  growth 
of  thirty-eight  years.  Twice  has 
the  upbuilding  of  a  city  on  this 
site  demonstrated  its  natural  advan¬ 
tages.  Within  a  few  years  before  the 
war  Atlanta  had  become  a  bustling 
town  of  11,000  inhabitants,  and  during 
the  three  years  which  intervened  be¬ 
fore  its  destruction  the  place  was  the 
seat  of  varied  and  important  industries, 
whose  principal  object  was  to  sustain 
the  military  operations  of  the  Confederacy.  It  was  also  a  depot  for  the 
distribution  of  supplies  to  the  surrounding  country  and  a  forwarding 
station  for  the  commissary  department  of  the  army. 

After  its  baptism!  of  fire  in  November,  1864,  when  the  inhabitants 
had  been  dispersed  by  the  exigencies  of  war,  and  of  more  than  1,000 
houses  only  300  remained,  the  city  took  a  new  start,  and  its  great  growth 
dates  from  that  time.  It  is  therefore,  a  city  of  the  new  regime,  erected 
on  the  ruins  of  the  old. 

The  coat  of  arms  of  Atlanta  fittingly  typifies  this  remiarkable  his- 
tory.  No  city  on  the  continent  has  survived  such  destruction.  No 
city  has  twice  attained  prominence  with  such  rapidity.  Atlanta’s 
foundation  reaches  back  to  the  forties,  and  far-seeing  men  recognized 
it  then  as  the  place  of  promise,  destined  to  be  an  important  railroad-cen¬ 
ter  and  a  seat  of  commerce.  This  conception,  of  the  new  city  had  been 
accepted  as  a  true  one  when  it  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  since  its 
new  birth  in  reconstruction  days  the  old  spirit  arose  and  lighted  the  new 
path  of  Atlanta  to  a  greater  destiny. 

The  capital  of  the  state  was  brought  here  from  Milledgeville 
when  the  new  city  was  hardly  out  of  the  ashes  of  war,  and  this  gave  a 
great  impetus  to  its  growth,  which  was  further  insured  in  1877,  when 
the  people  of  Georgia  voted  to  make  Atlanta  their  capital.  Its  rapidly 
developing  business  and  manufactures  were  brought  to  the  attention 
of  the  whole  country  by  the  Cotton  Exposition  of  1881,  which  was  a 
point  of  departure  for  the  tremendous  development  of  the  Southeast¬ 
ern  States  during  the  decade  between  1880  and  1890.  This  develop¬ 
ment  found  a  splendid  illustration  in  the  great  ’Cotton  States  and  In¬ 
ternational  Exposition  of  1895. 

The  rapidity  of  the  growth  of  Atlanta  is  illustrated  by  the  fact 
that,  since  it  was  blotted  from  the  map,  the  city  has  spread  over  twelve 


8 


4 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


STATE  CAPITOL. 

% 

square  miles  of  ground.  Starting  with  no  business  in  1865,  it  received 
in  1902  four-tenths  of  the  freight  delivered  in  Georgia,  and  its  post- 
office  receipts  were  four-tenths  of  those  of  the  State.  Thirty-seven 
years  ago  there  was  hardly  a  dollar  to  turn  a  trade;  within  the  year 
just  closed  the  bank  clearings  aggregated  $131,000,000.  Alt  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  this  period  there  were  only  a  few  stragglers  remaining  in  the 
wake  of  fire  and  sword.  To-day  there  is  a  great  city  of  near  100,000 
people,  the  business  headquarters  of  120,000,  with  a  floating  popula¬ 
tion  of  many  thousands  more.  Fromi  bare  ground  covered  with  ashes 
and  ruins  in  1865,  the  city  has  been  built  up  to  a  value  of  $57,369,612, 
consisting  largely  of  solid  masses  of  brick  and  mortar,  stone  and  steel, 
which  go  to  make  up  a  magnificent  array  of  handsome  business  edi¬ 
fices.  The  number  of  houses  has  increased  from  300  to  21,000. 

The  question,  wherefore  Atlanta?  naturally  arises,  for  communi¬ 
ties  are  not  effects  without  causes.  Atlanta  is  the  result  of  a  combi¬ 
nation  of  advantages,  on  a  commanding  geographical  location,  turned 
to  the  best  account  by  a  spirit  of  transcendent  energy,  which  sur¬ 
mounts  all  obstacles  and  builds  even  on  disaster  the  fabric  of  success. 
The  growth  of  this  unconquerable  spirit  has  been  promoted  by  a  unity 
of  purpose  which  has  prevented  the  domination  of  factions.  What- 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


ever  local  interests  may  clash,  the  good  of  Atlanta  is  always  a  rallying 
cry.  The  Atlanta  spirit,  which  has  accomplished  so  much  in  the  up¬ 
building  of  the  city  itself,  is  happily  contagious,  and  has  much  to  do 
with  making  Georgia  the  Empire  State  of  the  South.  The  spirit  of 
new  life  has  spread  from  this  to  other  Southern  States  which  are  the 
most  active  in  the  development  of  their  resources,  and  the  spirit  of  the 
Southeast  is  the  spirit  of  Atlanta. 

For  this  moral  and  material  eminence  Atlanta  is  fortunately  situ¬ 
ated  on  a  ridge  which  divides  the  watershed  of  the  Atlantic  from  that 
of  the  Gulf,  and  at  a  point  where  the  natural  barrier  of  the  Appalachian 
chain  is  broken  by  great  gaps  in  the  mountains.  This  is  the  natural 
point  of  intersection  for  railway  lines  from  the  West  with  lines  from 
the  East. 

This  geographical  vantage  ground  is  accompanied  by  a  topo¬ 
graphical  eminence,  from  which  the  great  climatic  advantages  of  At¬ 
lanta  are  derived.  More  than  1,000  feet  above  sea-level  at  its  lowest 
point,  and  from  eleven  to  twelve  hundred  at  other  places,  Atlanta  en¬ 
joys  a  cool,  bracing  atmosphere,  with  breezes  that  blow  over  the  foot¬ 
hills  of  the  Blue  Ridge.  The  exhilarating  air  is  a  kind  of  natural  tonic, 
so  different  from  that)  of  the  coast  and  Gulf  regions  that  an  inhabitant 
of  the  low  countries,  corning  to  Atlanta  during  the  heated  term,  feels 
a  stimulus  as  if  he  had  been  drinking  great  draughts  of  aerial  cham¬ 
pagne.  The  rolling  surface  of  the  country,  which  slopes  in  almost 
every  direction  from  the  city  affords  easy  drainage  and  keeps  the  sur¬ 
rounding  region  free  from  malaria. 

Atlanta’s  public  buildings  typify  the  solid  character  of  her  insti¬ 
tutions.  Most  conspicuous  among  them  is  the  State  capitol,  which 
was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $1,000,000.  This  stately  structure,  the  hotels, 
office  buildings,  theaters,  churches,  the  custom-house,  the  county  court¬ 
house,  and  other  public  edifices,  make  up  an  aggregate  of  ten  millions 
invested  in  public  buildings. 

Outside  of  public  buildings,  the  architecture  of  Atlanta  is  of  a 
pleasing  character  and  has  steadily  improved  during  the  past  thirty 
years.  Few  cities  in  any  part  of  the  United  States  can  show  more 
attractive  residence  streets  or  architectural  designs  indicating  more 
culture  and  good  taste.  Peachtree  Street,  the  principal  one  for  resi¬ 
dences,  has  a  number  of  elegant  homes  which  would  be  ornaments 
to  any  city. 

Atlanta  is  a  city  of  homes,  and  this  is  apparent  not  only  in  the 
appearance  of  the  houses,  but  in  the  statistics  of  the  United  States 
census,  by  which  Atlanta  is  credited  with  a  larger  percentage  of  home- 
owners  than  any  city  of  its  size  in  the  Southern  States. 


6 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


KIMBALL  HOUSE. 

The  water-supply  for  domestic  and  manufacturing  purposes  and 
for  sanitary  use  is  hardly  equaled  in  any  city  of  Atlanta’s  size,  and  the 
rates  per  thousand  gallons  for  families  or  for  manufacturing  purposes 
are  merely  nominal,  and  probably  lower  than  any  on  record. 

Conditions  in  Atlanta  are  highly  favorable  to  manufacturing  in¬ 
dustries,  and  this  is  attested  by  the  great  variety  of  articles  made 
here.  There  were  in  1900  395  establishments,  employing  over  9,000 
operatives  at  good  wages,  and  pouring  into  the  channels  of  trade  an 
annual  pay-roll  of  $3,100,000.  The  value  of  the  raw  material  con¬ 
sumed  was  more  than  $8,000,000  and  the  product  between  sixteen 
and  seventeen  millions.  Since  then  the  product  has  increased  to  $20,- 
000,000  and  the  number  of  wage  earners  to  11,000. 

The  manufacturers  of  Atlanta  in  their  variety  have  a  guaranty  of 
stability  not  to  be  found  in  those  of  any  city  where  industry  is  con¬ 
fined  to  one  family,  as  of  iron  or  cotton,  however  important  that  may 
be,  and  the  extent  of  this  variety  is  to  some  degree  indicated  in  the 

chapter  on  this  subject.  Among  the  articles  made  are  many  special¬ 
ties,  for  which  there  is  a  demand  in  almost  every  State  in  the  Union, 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


7 


and  concerns  making  them  have  enjoyed  prosperity  through  a  long 
series  of  years. 

The  trade  of  Atlanta  covers  more  or  less  all  of  the  States  between 
the  Ohio  and  Potomac  rivers,  the  Gulf,  the  Atlantic  ocean  and  the 
Mississippi  River,  and  in  some  lines  extends  to  the  far  Southwestern 
States  and  into  Mexico,  while  in  a  few  it  covers  the  entire  country. 
The  tendency  of  the  jobbing  trade  of  the  Southeast  is  to  concentrate 
in  Atlanta,  and  little  by  little  the  business  of  other  centers  gravitates 
to  this  city. 

Atlanta's  commanding  geographical  and  topographical  situation 
was,  at  the  outset,  one  of  the  causes  which  led  to  the  development  of 
a  great  railroad  center,  at  which  powerful  systems  from,  the  East,  the 
West  and  the  Southeast  regularly  compete.  As  a  distributing  point 
Atlanta  enjoys  facilities  hardly  equaled  elsewhere  in  the  Southeast¬ 
ern  States,  and  as  an  accessible  place  of  rendezvous  for  all  kinds  of 
organizations  and  interests,  it  is  a  favorite,  and  has  come  to  be  known 
as  the  Convention  City. 

Atlanta’s  financial  institutions  are  of  the  most  solid  character. 

Atlanta  is  the  third  city  in  the  United  States  in  the  amount  of 
insurance  written  and  reported  to  agencies.  It  is  the  Southern  head¬ 
quarters  for  a  number  of  fire  and  life  insurance  companies,  and  agen¬ 
cies  of  old-line  and  every  other  type  of  insurance  are  numerous. 

The  educational  facilities  of  Atlanta  are  fully  treated  in  a  sep- 


ARAGON  HOTEL 


8 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


PIEDMONT  HOTEL. 

arate  chapter,  in  which  it  appears  that  this  city  is  abreast  of  the  times 
in  this  as  in  other  respects.  Atlanta  early  established  a  system  of 
public  schools,  and  before  almost  any  city  in  the  South,  turned  its 
attention  to  technical  education.  The  Technological  School  was  estab¬ 
lished  by  the  State  of  Georgia  upon  inducements  offered  by  the  city 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


9 


of  Atlanta,  which  bore  half  of  the  cost  of  the  original  plant,  and  con¬ 
tributes  regularly  to  the  support  of  the  institution.  There  is  ample 
opportunity  here  for  technical  instruction  of  other  kinds,  and  Atlanta 
has  three  medical  colleges,  whose  attendance  averages  600,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  students  of  the  dental  colleges.  Technical  instruction 
in  business  methods  is  not  neglected,  and  several  large  and  flourishing 
business  colleges  have  maintained  themselves  here  for  many  years. 

The  religious  and  social  atmosphere  of  Atlanta  is  wholesome  and 
invigorating.  It  is  a  city  of  churches  and  the  home  of  church-going 
people,  and  the  community  is  honey-combed  with  fraternal  organizations. 

The  social  intercourse  of  the  people,  as  well  as  the  facility  for 
doing  business,  is  greatly  aided  by  an  ideal  system  of  rapid  transit, 
not  only  from  the  residence  and  suburban  sections  to  the  center,  but 
from  one  residence  portion  to  another.  The  neighborly  spirit  is  en¬ 
hanced  by  the  nearness  thus  artificially  created. 

With  all  these  advantages,  and  many  which  appear  more  fully  in 
subsequent  chapters,  Atlanta  has  a  wholesome  and  inspiring  public 
spirit  which  never  fails  to  respond  when  the  interests  of  the  city  are 
at  stake.  This  is  perhaps  the  most  distinctive  thing  about  Atlanta. 


grant’s  park. 


The  New  Atlanta. 


Population,  Area  and  Government. 


ATLANTA’S  population  is  estimated  at  100,000.  By  the  census  of 
1900  it  was  89,872.  The  census  of  1880  gave  Atlanta  a  popula- 
L  tion  of  39,000,  and  by  the  city  assessment  of  the  next  year  the 
real  estate  was  valued  at  $14,721,883  and  the  personal  property  at  $7,- 
474,258.  By  1890  the  population  had  grown  to  65,000  and  real  estate 
was  valued  at  $39,729,894.  In  the  same  period  personal  property  grew 
to  $11,906,605.  The  decade  between  1880  and  1890  was  a  period  during 
which  Atlanta  made  remarkable  advance,  but  during  the  great  depression 
through  which  the  whole  country  has  passed  since  1890  the  progress  of 
this  city  has  been  astonishing.  In  spite  of  a  somewhat  lower  scale  of  valu¬ 
ation  for  suburban  real  estate,  the  assessor’s  report  for  1902  showed  realty 
valued  at  $43,597,813,  and  personalty  $13,771,799.  This  value  was  cre¬ 
ated  in  thirty-five  years,  for  Atlanta  came  out  of  the  Civil  War  naked 
and  desolate. 

By  census  taken  in  1900  the  population  of  Atlanta,  by  wards,  was 
found  to  be  as  follows : 


First  Ward . 15,596 

Second  Ward  . 14,628 

Third  Ward  ....  12,943 

Fourth  Ward  . 17,072 

Fifth  Ward  . 12,415 

Sixth  Ward  . 14,754 

Seventh  Ward  .  2,464 


Total  . 89,872 


Since  then  the  population  has  increased  to  100,000. 


Area  and  Expansion. 

Atlanta  is  a  city  of  magnificent  distances,  covering  about  eleven 
square  miles.  With  abundance  of  room  and  fresh  air,  the  circular  form: 
of  the  city  makes  it  compact,  and  the  residence  portions  are,  as  a  rule, 
equidistant  from  the  business  center.  The  corporate  line  is  described  by 
a  radius  of  a  mile  and  three-quarters.  In  two  places  this  circle  is  ex¬ 
panded  to  take  in  suburban  communities  which  had  been  formed  with 
irregular  boundaries  before  the  circular  corporation  line  reached  them. 
These  are  Inman  Park  and  West  End,  which  extend  from  half  a  mile  to 
a  mile  beyond  the  circle  which  elsewhere  forms  the  corporate  limits. 

Atlanta  is  situated  on  rolling  ground,  which  gives  every  facility 
for  drainage  and  contributes  materially  to  the  effectiveness  of  the 


10 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


i  i 


CENTURY  BUILDING. 


elaborate  system  of  sewers.  This  rolling  country  extends  in  every  di¬ 
rection,  and  suburban  communities  are  rapidly  extending.  The  elec¬ 
tric  lines  reach  out  for  six  or  eight  miles  on  all  sides  of  the  city,  and 
afford  quick  and  cheap  access  for  the  outlying  towns.  As  a  result 
of  this  elaborate  systerm  of  rapid  transit,  there  has  been  a  remarkable 


12 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


PRUDENTIAL  AND  EMPIRE  BUILDINGS. 


expansion  of  the  city  within  the  past  ten  years,  and  the  pressure  on 
the  center  has  been  greatly  relieved.  It  is  estimated  that  the  suburban 
trains  and  street-car  systems  of  Atlanta  bring  in  and  carry  out  30,000 
people  a  day. 

City  Government. 

The  city  government  of  Atlanta  is  administered  by  a  Mayor  and 
General  Council  and  Executive  Boards.  The  legislative  body  is  com¬ 
posed  of  councilmen  from  the  different  wards,  elected  by  the  whole 
city,  and  aldermen  who  are  elected  in  a  like  manner.  The  aldermen 
and  councilmen  vote  separately  on  matters  involving  the  expenditure 
of  money,  and  the  concurrence  of  both  bodies  is  necessary  to  an  appro¬ 
priation.  The  Mayor  has  the  usual  veto  power. 

The  tax  rate  is  one  and  a  quarter  per  cent,  and  the  ratio  of  assess- 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


ment  to  real  value  of  property  is  about  sixty  per  cent.  The  assessed 
value  of  real  and  personal  property  is  $57,369,612. 

The  city  owns  property  valued  at  nine  millions,  and  has  a  bonded 
debt  of  $3,081,500.  Deducting  the  Sinking  Fund  of  $210,695.18,  the 
net  debt  is  $2,879,804.82.  There  is  no  floating  debt,  and  the  bonded 
debt  is  limited  by  the  State  Constitution  to  seven  per  cent,  on  the  taxable 
value  of  the  property.  The  net  debt  is  therefore  $1,000,000  under  the 
limit. 

The  'Charter  requires  the  Mayor  and  General  Council  to  carry  over 
n  balance  of  $175,000  in  cash  from  year  to  year.  This  keeps  the  Treasury 
in  good  condition  and  the  city  is  able  to  float  three  and  one-half  per  cent, 
bonds  at  par  and  above. 

There  is  a  Sinking  Fund  Commission,  which  was  created  by  a  special 
act  of  the  Legislature,  and  the  Mayor  and  General  Council  are  required 
to  set  aside  each  year  from  the  revenues  of  the  city  an  amount  sufficient 
to  retire  the  bonded  debt  within  thirty  years. 

The  expenditures  of  the  city  for  the  year  1902  were  $2,188,118.75. 
In  the  same  period,  the  revenues  and  other  receipts,  including  bonds, 
the  proceeds  of  which  were  expended,  were  $1,632,703.63.  The  differ¬ 
ence  is  accounted  for  by  a  balance  carried  over  from  the  previous  year. 

Police. 

Atlanta  has  a  fine  Police  Department,  divided  into  three  watches  of 
eight  hours  each.  It  has  valuable  auxiliaries  in  the  mounted  men  and  the 
bicycle  corps,  numbering  forty  men. 

There  is  a  fine  central  station,  which  cost  $100,000,  and  a  Police 
signal  system  with  telephone  connections.  The  expenditures  of  the 
Department  during  1902  amounted  to  $144,029.39. 

Fire  Protection. 

Atlanta  has  a  model  Fire  Department,  well  equipped  with  modern 
apparatus,  and  supplied  with  water  at  fire  pressure  from  the  pumping- 
station  of  the  waterworks.  In  1902  the  Department  cost  $123,205.82; 
the  number  of  fires  was  469  and  the  value  of  buildings  and  contents  at 
risk  $3,350,779.  The  damage  was  $408,592. 

The  average  fire  loss  for  seventeen  years  was  $152,633. 

<  r[T  -rr 

Sanitary  Department. 

Atlanta  spent  $111,611.04  on  sanitation  in  1902,  and  about  250  men 
were  employed  under  the  Board  of  Health  in  keeping  the  city  clean. 
There  are  the  usual  precautions  in  infectious  and  contagious  diseases. 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City 


EQUITABLE  BUILDING. 

Th/e  sewer-system  of  the  city  was  constructed  on  a  plan  designed  by 
Rudolph  Hering,  of  New  York. 

Mortuary  Record. 

The  deaths  from  diseases  in  Atlanta  during  1902  were  2,071,  of  which 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


*5 


979  were  of  white  people  and  1,092  of  colored.  The  population  within 
the  corporate  limits  in  the  census  year  was  89,872.  In  1902  it  was 
estimated  at  100,000.  This  makes  the  rate  of  mortality  20.71.  Of  the 
population  in  1902,  it  is  estimated  that  40,000  were  colored  and  60,000 
were  white,  which  makes  the  rate  of  mortality  27.3  for  colored  and  16.31 
for  white. 

Waterworks. 

The  Waterworks  Department  of  Atlanta  has  one  of  the  best  plants 
in  the  country  and  furnishes  pure  water  at  the  nominal  price  of  ten 
cents  per  thousand  gallons  for  domestic  consumption.  Liberal  rates  are 
made  to  manufacturers,  and  even  at  the  low  prices  charged,  the  Depart* 
ment  pays  a  handsome  net  revenue  to  the  city. 

The  works  have  a  daily  pumping  capacity  of  30,000,000  gallons. 
The  actual  consumption  now  is  8,966,000  gallons  per  day.  There  are 
two  15,000,000  gallon  engines,  so  that  if  one  is  out  of  order  the  other 
can  keep  up  the  supply.  The  supply  comes  from  the  Chattahoochee 
River,  above  the  city,  and  above  the  mouth  of  the  Peachtree  Creek.  The 
river  comes  down  from  the  mountain  section,  which  is  sparsely  settled, 
and  so  far,  the  supply  is  satisfactory.  The  water  is  perfectly  clear,  and 
comes  through  a  settling  basin  and  filters. 

Sewers . 

In  addition  to  the  amount  disbursed  by  the  Sanitary  Department, 
the  city  spent  $61,044.93  the  same  year  in  constructing  sewers. 

Streets. 

During  1902  Atlanta  spent  $177,514  on  streets.  Since  1880  the  city 
has  spent,  $3,827,171  on  streets,  sewers  and  sidewalks.  There  are 
63.39  miles  of  paved  streets,  227.17  miles  of  paved  sidewalks,  and 
100.47  miles  of  sewers.  There  are  six  miles  of  asphalt  streets  and  sev¬ 
eral  miles  of  vitrified  brick.  The  rest  is  paved  with  granite  blocks, 
chert  and  macadam. 

Boulevards. 

Atlanta  has  some  beautiful  streets  for  driving.  Peachtree,  Wash¬ 
ington,  Whitehall  and  Peters  Streets  and  Capitol  Avenue  are  paved 
with  asphalt,  and  this  smooth  surface  makes  a  fine  speedway.  White¬ 
hall  and  Peachtree  Streets,  connecting  at  the  viaduct,  form  a  con¬ 
tinuous  asphalt  boulevard  three  and  one-half  miles  long.  This  is  con¬ 
nected  north  of  the  city  with  a  macadam  pike  to  Buckhead,  and  south 
of  the  city  with  a  chert  road  to  College  Park,  six  miles  beyond  the 
city  limits.  This  forms  a  continuous  boulevard  fifteen  miles  long  in  a 


1 6 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


GRAND  OPERA  HOUSE. 

north  and  south  line,  with  a  smooth  surface,  which  is  well  adapted  to 
carriages,  bicycles  and  automobiles. 

Prominent  Structures. 

t 

Atlanta  has  many  handsome  buildings,  notable  among  wrhich  are  the 
State  Capitol,  the  new’  Court-House,  the  Carnegie  Library,  of  w7hite 
marble,  the  Grand  Opera  House,  the  seven  great  fire-proof  office  build¬ 
ings,  and  the  beautiful  Piedmont  Hotel,  which  is  also  a  fire-proof  struc- 


» 


AIU5IA- 


1*3  zynzrE-Cky ilr 


Lis :  o-  Fire-Proof  Office  Euildi  -igj 


Business. 


A  TLANTA  is  the  business 
/  \  center  of  the  Southeast. 

*  *  Almost  all  the  great  con¬ 

cerns  of  national  extent  make  this 
city  their  Southern  headquarters, 
and  this  has  created  the  phenom¬ 
enal  demand  for  offices.  As  a  re¬ 
sult,  Atlanta  has  more  tall  fire-proof 
steel-frame  office-buildings  than 
any  other  Southern  'City. 

Atlanta’s  business  is  indicated 
by  the  bank  clearings,  which  were 
$131,000,000  for  the  year  1902. 
In  1894  they  were  $56,000,000. 
This  shows  more  clearly  than 
words  the  rapid  growth  of  the 
city  as  a  business  center. 

From  the  latest  available  data, 
the  wholesale  trade  of  Atlanta  is 


estimated  as  follows : 

Groceries  . $  1 0,000,000 

Hardware  .  4,000,000 

Liquor  .  700,000 

Drugs  .  1,000,000 

Dry  goods  and  Shoes .  10,000,000 

Miscellaneous  .  5,000,000 


$30,700,000 

Retail  Trade  .  15,000,000 


$45,  700,000 

Fuel  Trade. 

. $  1,500,000 

.  75.000 

.  30,000 

.  25,000 

$  1,630,000 

Horses  and  Mules. 

John  A.  Miller  estimates  the  movement  for  the  year,  September 
1902,  to  September,  1903,  as  follows: 

Cars  Head  Value 

2,500  62,500  $7,000,000 


Soft  Coal 
Hard  Coal 
Coke  .... 
Wood  .  .  . 


ATLANTA’S  BUSINESS 
GROWS  FOUR  TIMES  A5 
FA  SI  AS  THE  POPULA¬ 
TION,  AND  THE  POPU¬ 
LATION  GROWS  TWICE 
A5  FAST  A5  THE  AVER¬ 
AGE  OF  THE  UNITED 
S TA  TES.  POSTAL  RE¬ 
CEIPTS  ON  ITS  NEWSPA¬ 
PERS  EXCEED  THOSE 
OF  BALTIMORE,  BROOK¬ 
LYN,  BUFFALO,  OMAHA 
OR  NEW  ORLEANS.  :  : 


18 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


J9 


GRADY  HOSPITAL. 

Manufactures. 

The  United  States  census  for  1900  gives  the  following  information 
concerning  the  manufactures  of  Atlanta : 


Number  of  establishments .  395 

Capital  . $16,085,114 

Wage-earners  .  9,368 

Wages  paid  . $  3,106,039 

Value  of  product  .  16,721,899 


Atlanta’s  principal  manufacturing  establishments  are  in  cotton, 
iron,  machinery,  lumber,  sheet  metal,  terra  cotta,  brick,  fertilizer, 
wagons,  carriages,  furniture,  candy  and  crackers,  cigars,  coffins,  chem¬ 
icals,  printing,  lithographing,  electrotyping,  stamping,  paper  and  paper 
bags,  flour  and  meal,  paints,  varnish,  cottonseed  oil  and  cake,  ice,  har¬ 
ness,  belts,  hosiery,  underwear,  neckwear,  woolen  goods,  gins,  engines, 
sash,  doors  and  blinds,  mantels,  iron  beds,  spring  beds,  trunks,  desks, 
tables,  pickles,  condiments,  baking  powder,  bread  and  cakes,  clothing, 
overalls,  millinery,  suspenders,  picture-frames  and  moulding. 

In  money  value,  cotton  goods  and  fertilizers  lead  the  list.  There  are 
three  large  cotton  factories,  and  Atlanta  is  headquarters  for  the  Vir- 
ginia-Carolina  Chemical  Company,  the  largest  producer  of  fertilizers 
in  the  South.  It  is  also  the  headquarters  of  several  large  sawmill 
companies. 


F  ATLANTA. 


22 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


Atlanta  Banks. 

1  he  clearings  and  deposits  of  the  associated  banks  of  Atlanta  are 
reported  as  follows  by  Mr.  Darwin  G.  Jones,  manager  of  the  Atlanta 
Clearing  House  Association : 

CLEARINGS  BY  YEARS. 


1894  . $  56,589,228.04 

1895  .  65,318,254.71 

I°9o  .  69,026,033.1 7 

l&97  .  72, 005,161.52 

^9^  .  71,964,809.03 

1899  .  83,058,397.11 

1900  .  96,375,251.22 

1901  .  111,755,849.98 

j902  .  131,200,457.25 


These  reports  show  that  business  has  doubled  in  seven  years. 

Deposits  December  1st  Each  Year. 

I 

The  deposits  of  the  Clearing  House  banks  of  Atlanta  at  the  end  of 
the  week  nearest  December  xst  of  each  year,  are  reported  by  Manager 
Jones  as  follows : 


1893  . $  3.977.930-98 

1894  .  4,779,640.99 

1895  .  6,672,006.87 

1896  .  5.9S7.634-S 1 

1897  .  6,385,336.51 

1898  .  6,756,991.36 

1899  .  7,764,990.85 

1900  .  9,011,902.85 

1901  .  II,080,I27.68 

1902  .  12,935,639.60 


SWIFT  FERTILIZER  WORKS. 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


23 


JEWISH  ORPHANAGE. 


Government  Receipts  in  the  Southeast. 


One  of  the  facts  indicating  the  greatness  of  the  territory,  of  which 
Atlanta  is  the  center,  is  the  Government  receipts  in  the  Southeast. 

The  receipts  of  the  Federal  Government  through  internal  revenue, 
customs,  duties  and  Presidential  Post-offices  is  stated  as  follows,  in  the 
latest  official  reports  : 


Alabama  . 

Florida  . 

Georgia  . 

Tennessee 
North  Carolina 
South  Carolina 

Total  .  . 


$  1,109,849.00 
2,540,449-°8 

1,133,460.03 

3,449,646.82 

7,644,756.21 

67C536.7I 


$16,549,699.85 


Growth  of  Postal  Business. 

The  growth  of  business  is  strikingly  shown  by  the  postal  receipts 
for  the  year  ending  June  30th,  1890,  1894  and  1902: 


1890  .  $  159,262.61 

1894  .  201,649.92 

1902  .  415,392.04 


Comparison  with  other  cities,  by  various  barometers  of  trade  and 
industry,  indicates  that  Atlanta  does  more  business  than  any  city  of 


24 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


100,000  population  in  the  United  States.  As  a  newspaper  center  it  is 
phenomenal.  The  receipts  from  second-class  mail  matter  at  Atlanta 
were  $44,064.76  during  the  year  ending  June  30,  1902.  This  shows 
that  on  newspapers  and  periodicals  Atlanta  pays  the  Government  more 
than  Brooklyn,  Baltimore,  Buffalo,  Washington,  Omaha,  New 
Orleans,  Louisville,  or  Indianapolis. 

The  receipts  of  the  Atlanta  Post-office  for  the  year  ending  June  30, 
1902,  were  $415,546.14,  an  increase  of  sixteen  per  cent,  on  the  receipts 
of  the  preceding  year. 

Insurance . 

Atlanta  is  the  third  insurance  center  of  the  United  States,  and  easily 
first  in  the  South. 

The  receipts  of  premiums  reported  to  agencies  here  are  estimated 
at  $8,000,000,  about  equally  divided  between  fire  and  life  insurance. 

Atlanta  is  the  headquarters  of  the  Southeastern  Tariff  Association. 
There  are  no  burdensome  insurance  laws  in  this  State  and  taxes  are 
reasonable. 

Cotton. 

Atlanta  is  the  center  of  large  cotton  operations,  and  receives  about 
t 75.000  hales  annually.  There  are  several  large  warehouses  and  com- 


JEWISH  temple. 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


25 


FIRST  METHODIST  CHURCH. 


presses.  The  ten  lines  of  railroads  give  ample  facilities  for  collecting 
the  crop  from  adjoining  territory  and  forwarding  it  overland  to  eastern 
mills  or  to  the  coast  for  export.  Both  of  the  Round  Bale  Companies 
are  represented  in  this  city. 

T  ransportation. 

Atlanta  is  the  railroad  center  of  the  Southeast.  Ten  radiating  lines, 
furnish  ample  facilities  for  distribution  of  manufactures  and  mer¬ 
chandise  from  this  point.  Five  of  these  lines  belong  to  the  Southern 
Railway. 

Here  is  a  list  of  the  lines : 

Southern  to  Washington. 

Southern  to  Knoxville. 

Southern  to  Birmingham. 

Southern  to  Fort  Valley. 

Southern  to  Brunswick. 


26 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


CARNEGIE  LIBRARY. 


Georgia  Railroad  to  Augusta. 

Seaboard  Air  Line  to  Portsmouth. 

Western  &  Atlantic  to  Chattanooga. 

Atlanta  &  West  Point  to  Montgomery. 

Central  of  Georgia  Railway  to  Savannah. 

The  Connections  of  these  make  many  more  routes  over  which  there 
are  through  trains,  as  for  example,  to  Columbus  and  Albany. 

The  Southern  Railway,  Central  of  Georgia  Railway,  and  Atlanta 
and  West  Point  Railway  have  let  the  contract  for  a  union  passenger  sta¬ 
tion  at  the  corner  of  Mitchell  and  Madison  streets,  and  will  spend  about 
a  million  dollars  on  the  structure.  Altogether  they  will  spend  two  mil¬ 
lions  on  the  station  and  terminal  facilities  connected  with  it. 

Atlanta’s  hotel  accommodations  are  superior  to  those  of  almost  any 
other  city  in  the  South.  The  Piedmont  is  a  fire  proof  building  of  the  best 
class,  with  steel  frame.  The  Kimball,  the  Aragon,  the  Majestic,  and  the 
Marion  have  long  enjoyed  an  eviable  reputation  with  the  traveling  public. 
There  are  numerous  smaller  hotels  and  any  number  of  boarding-houses. 
Atlanta  is  the  stop-over  point  for  the  Florida  winter  travel,  both  going 
and  coming,  and  is  rapidly  becoming  a  summer  resort  by  reason  of  its 
elevation,  bracing  atmosphere,  and  cool  climate. 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


27 


The  Radius  of  Distribution * 

Atlanta’s  advantages  as  a  distributing  point  are  shown  by  the  cen¬ 
tral  location  with  reference  to  Southeastern  towns.  There  are  seventy- 
nine  towns  of  exceeding  4,000  population  in  Alabama,  North  Carolina 
South  Carolina,  Georgia  and  Mississippi.  The  average  distances  of 
these  towns  by  States  from  Atlanta,  Savannah  and  Nashville  are  as 


follows : 

ATLANTA  SAVANNAH  NASHVILLE 

Alabama  .  195  miles  419  miles  269  miles 

North  Carolina  .  400  miles  352  miles  629  miles 

South  Carolina .  239  miles  193  miles  526  miles 

Georgia  .  147  miles  233  miles  386  miles 

Mississippi .  423  miles  606  miles  440  miles 


1,404  miles  1,803  miles  2,250  miles 


Average  distance  of  towns 

in  five  States  . 280.8  miles  360.6  miles  450  miles 


COURTHOUSE — FROM  THE  SOUTH. 


28 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


Street  Railways. 

Atlanta  has  a  fine  system  of  street  railways,  with  one  hundred  and 
forty-two  miles  of  track  radiating  from  the  heart  of  the  city  to  the 
residence  portion  and  thence  to  the  suburbs.  In  some  directions  they 
reach  out  for  eight  miles,  as  in  the  case  of  College  Park,  Decatur  and 
the  Chattahoochee.  River. 

The  service  is  excellent,  and  there  are  one  hundred  miles  of  tracks 
within  the  city  limits.  The  uniform  fare  is  five  cents,  but  there  are 
transfers  from  incoming  lines  to  any  part  of  the  city.  Almost  any  spot 
on  a  car  line,  within  the  city  limits,  can  be  reached  from  any  other 
point  inside  the  city  for  one  fare. 

There  is  ample  service  to  all  the  parks  and  resorts,  and  an  electric 
line  to  Marietta  is  chartered. 

Light  and  Power. 

Atlanta  is  well  supplied  with  gas  at  a  low  figure — $1.00  per  thou¬ 
sand  mihic  feet.  It  is  so  economical  that  gas  stoves  are  very  largely 
used  for  cooking  purposes  and  not  a  few  for  heating. 


LAKE  ABANA - GRANT’S  PARK. 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


29 


VAN  WINKLE  GIN  AND  MACHINERY  CO. 

The  Georgia  Railway  and  Electric  Company  has  two  large  plants 
for  the  generation  of  electric  current  for  light  and  power.  The  city  is 
well  illuminated  by  arc  lights  and  electricity  is  largely  used  by  business 
offices  and  residences. 

The  same  company  has  a  steam-healing  plant,  and  pipes  have  been 
laid  in  the  principal  streets  for  this  service. 

Great  Power  Plant . 

The  Atlanta  Water  and  Electric  Power  Company  has  been  at  work 
since  August  1902,  on  a  massive  masonry  damt  across  the  Chatta¬ 
hoochee  River,  at  Bull  Sluice  shoals,  fifteen  miles  from  Atlanta.  They 
had  expended  $300,000  by  February,  1903,  and  by  the  middle  of  1904 
the  plant  will  be  completed  and  equipped  to  deliver  11,000  horse-power 
of  electric  current  in  Atlanta.  The  total  investment  will  be  $2,000,- 
000.  The  power  plant  will  give  a  tremendous  stimulus  to  manu¬ 
facturing.  Already  the  assurance  of  this  power  has  called  into  ex¬ 
istence  two  mammoth  new  enterprises,  not  yet  known  to  the  public,, 
which  will  use  a  third  of  the  electric  current  thus  made  available. 
Smaller  industries  in  sight  increase  the  demand  to  half  the  new  power, 
fifteen  months  before  the  current  can  be  turned  on.  There  is  hardly 
a  doubt  that  the  whole  of  the  11,000  horse-power  will  be  taken  by  the 
time  it  is  ready  for  use. 

As  the  steam  and  electric  powers  already  in  existence  furnish  45,- 
000  horse-power,  which  is  in  constant  use,  the  addition  of  11,000  horse- 


3° 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


SOUTHERN  FEMALE  COLLEGE. 

power  within  two  years  will  increase  the  manufacturing  industries 

of  Atlanta  by  twenty-five  per  cent.  This  is  considered  a  very  moder¬ 
ate  estimate ;  for  within  the  two  and  a  half  years  following  the  census 
of  June,  1900,  the  product  of  Atlanta  factories  increased  from  $16,721,- 
000  to  $27,417,000,  and  the  number  of  wage  earners  from  9,368  to  more 
than  11,000. 

Another  power  plant  is  under  construction  at  Randals  Shoals  on  the 
Chattahoochee. 

Rapid  Growth  of  Business. 

The  business  of  Atlanta  is  growing  four  times  as  fast  as  its  popula¬ 
tion,  although  the  population  grows  twice  as  fast  as  that  of  the 

country.  The  rate  of  increase  in  population  for  the  United  States  has 

been  two  per  cent,  per  annum  during  the  past  decade.  In  Atlanta,  it 

has  been  approximately  four  per  cent.  During  the  year  1902,  the' 
business  of  Atlanta  increased  sixteen  per  cent,  as  measured  iby  postal 
receipts  and  eighteen  per  cent,  as  measured  by  bank  clearings.  Since 
the  Exposition  of  1895,  bank  clearings  have  doubled  and  bank  dte*- 
posits  have  nearly  trebled. 

Chamber  of  Commerce. 

During  the  thirty  years  of  their  existence  the  Chamber  of  Com¬ 
merce,  and  its  predecessor,  the  Board  of  Trade,  have  been  active  in 
protecting  and  promoting  the  interests  of  Atlanta.  Meetings  in  the 
public  interest  have  usually  been  called  at  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
and  it  was  there  that  the  first  meeting  to  organize  the  Cotton  States 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


3i 


and  International  Exposition  was  held.  All  important  questions 
affecting  business  have  been  discussed  there  and  a  score  or  so  of  stand¬ 
ing  committees  have  been  constituted  by  the  Chamber  to  look  after 
the  interests  of  Atlanta.  The  Chamber  of  Commerce  is  the  open  forum 
for  the  discussion  of  all  matters  which  affect  the  general  welfare  of 
the  community,  and  in  this  way  the  organization  has  exerted  a  pow¬ 
erful  influence. 

The  present  officers  are : 

J.  K.  Orr,  President;  E.  C.  Peters,  Vice-President;  Walter  G. 
Cooper,  Secretary,  and  A.  L.  Kontz,  Treasurer. 

Daily  Newspapers • 

Atlanta  has  three  daily  newspapers.  The  Constitution,  a  morning 
paper,  acquired  national  reputation  under  the  management  of  Henry 
W.  Grady,  and  has  continued  under  the  management  of  Clark  Howell 
to  hold  a  leading  position  among  the  newspapers  of  America. 

The  Atlanta  Journal  is  a  large  afternoon  paper  which  acquired  na¬ 
tional  reputation  under  the  management  of  Hoke  Smith,  and  has  con¬ 
tinued  to  grow  under  the  management  of  Jamfcs  R.  Gray. 

The  third  daily  newspaper  is  the  Atlanta  News,  a  penny  afternoon 
paper  organized  during  the  summer  of  1902.  It  appeared  August  4th 
and  rapidly  acquired  a  large  circulation.  A  bright  future  is  predicted. 
Editors,  John  Temple  Graves  and  Charles  Daniel;  Business  Manager, 
J.  F.  Beck. 


WATER  WORKS  PUMPING  STATION. 


TECHNOLOGICAL  SCHOOL. 

Educational  Facilities. 


ATLANTA  has  an  imposing  array  of  educational  institutions,  ex- 
tending  from  the  public  school  system1  to  the  great  polytechnic 
^  institute  known  as  the  Georgia  Institute  of  Technology.  There 

is  a  variety  of  technical  schools,  including  law,  medicine,  dentistry, 
handicrafts,  business  colleges,  industrial  schools  and  divinity  schools. 

There  are  sixteen  white  and  six  colored  Grammar  schools,  a  Girls’ 
High  School,  a  Boys’  High  School,  and  a  night  school.  The  total  ex¬ 
penditure  for  these  institutions  during  the  year  1901  was  $186,475.50. 
The  cost  per  pupil  was  $15.49,  and  the  number  of  pupils  12,000. 

There  is  the  usual  organization  of  Superintendent,  Assistant  Super¬ 
intendent,  principal  and  teachers,  under  a  Board  of  Education. 

The  teachers  meet  in  normal  class  once  a  week,  and  many  of  them 
spend  their  vacations  at  summer  schools  of  the  great  universities. 
There  is  a  fine  esprit  de  corps,  and  excellent  work  is  done. 

Atlanta’s  great  educational  institution  is  the  Georgia  Institute  of 
Technology,  supported  by  the  State  of  Georgia,  with  an  additional  an¬ 
nual  appropriation  from  the  city.  It  has  about  400  students,  and  the 
work  is  the  best  of  its  kind  in  the  South.  There  are  machine  shops  in 
wood  and  in  the  metals,  a  blacksmith  shop,  a  textile  school,  and  depart¬ 
ments  of  electrical  engineering  and  mechanical  engineering.  In  addi¬ 
tion  there  is  excellent  work  in  mathematics,  chemistry,  and  the  other 
scientific  schools,  with  a  good  education  in  English. 

Graduates  of  this  institution  have  been  distinguished  for  the  thor¬ 
oughness  and  the  practical  value  of  their  education,  which  has  enabled 
them  to  go'  from  the  shops  and  recitation-rooms  directly  into  manufac¬ 
turing  and  engineering  pursuits. 

A  number  of  them  hold  very  high  and  responsible  positions  in  the 
management  of  great  enterprises,  and  almost  without  exception,  the 
graduates  hold  good  positions  in  productive  industry. 

There  are  600  students  attending  the  medical  colleges  of  Atlanta. 

The  Atlanta  College  of  Physicians  and  Surgeons  is  one  of  the  best 
equipped  in  the  country,  and  its  course  is  very  thorough.  It  has  a  very 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


33 


large  attendance  from  all  parts  of  the  Southern  States,  and  some  from 
beyond  that  territory. 

The  Eclectic  College  of  Medicine  and  Surgery  is  also  well  attended. 

The  Dental  College  holds  a  position  of  eminence  among  institutions 
of  that  kind. 

The  members  of  the  Medical  and  Dental  professions  of  the  city  rank 
high. 

There  are  several  excellent  institutions  for  the  education  of  girls, 
notably  the  Agnes  Scott  Institute,  the  Southern  Female  College  and 
the  Washington  Seminary. 

The  Southern  Military  College  is  an  excellent  institution  for  boys, 
and  Hunter's  School  for  boys  has  a  fine  reputation. 

The  people  of  Atlanta  have  raised  $250,000  which  will  be  tendered 
the  Synods  of  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church,  to  secure  the  location 
of  a  $1,000,000  University  in  the  city  or  its  immediate  suburbs. 

Of  the  amount  subscribed,  $150,000  comes  from  Presbyterians  and 
$100,000  from  the  public,  including  all  classes  and  almost  all  religious 
denominations.  Of  the  $100,000  contributed  by  the  public,  about  $25,000 
came  from  working  men  and  salaried  employees  of  business  houses.  In 
some  cases  even  domestic  servants  contributed.  In  all  there  are  about 
3,000  subscribers  for  amounts  ranging  from  10  cents  to  $25,000.  At  a 
great  mass  meeting  held  in  the  Grand  Opera  House,  Monday  evening, 
March  30th,  $50,000  was  raised. 

The  Carnegie  Library . 

The  Carnegie  Library,  built  of  white  marble,  at  a  cost  of  $120,000, 
and  supplied  with  20,000  volumes,  is  one  of  the  best  of  Atlanta’s  insti¬ 
tutions.  It  has  a  circulation  of  11,000  and  any  citizen  can  secure 
books  without  charge. 

The  library  began  as  the  “Young  Men’s  Library,”  a  subscription 
institution,  which  acquired  most  of  the  books  now  on  the  shelves.  Sev¬ 
eral  years  ago  Mr.  Andrew  Carnegie  gave  the  city  of  Atlanta  $100,000 
to  erect  a  building  for  the  library,  provided  that  the  city  would  maintain  it 
with  an  annual  expenditure  of  not  less  than  $5,000.  The  conditions  of 


COLLEGE  OF  PHYSICIANS  AND  SURGEONS. 


34 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


the  gift  were  complied  with,  and  the  new  building  was  erected  near 
Peachtree  street,  and  the  Young  Men’s  Library  was  merged  in  the 
Carnegie  Library. 

Since  then  Mr.  Carnegie  has  added  $45,000  to  his  gift,  of  which 
$20,000  was  for  the  building  and  $25,000  for  furnishings. 

The  State  Library  has  a  large  collection  of  law  books,  and  a  rare 
collection  of  colonial  history  of  this  and  other  Southern  States. 

Institutions  for  J\[egro  Education. 

Atlanta  has  some  of  the  largest  institutions  for  negro  education,  in 
the  country.  They  are :  Atlanta  University,  Clark  University,  Gam¬ 
mon  Theological  Seminary,  the  Atlanta  Baptist  College,  Morris  Brown 
College,  and  Spellman  Seminary. 

The  Spellman  Seminary  has  a  fine  training  school  for  nurses,  and 
industrial  training  for  women. 

Clark  University  has  industrial  training  for  men. 

Theatres. 

Atlanta  has  two  fine  theatres — the  Grand  and  the  Bijou. 

The  Atlanta  Lecture  Association  is  one  of  the  best  in  the  United 
States,  and  regularly  brings  the  best  talent  of  the  country  to  the  At¬ 
lanta  platform.  Its  membership  is  about  1,000.  The  Baptist  Taber¬ 
nacle  has  a  lyceum  course. 

* 


AGNES  SCOTT  INSTITUTE. 


Residential  Advantages. 


IT  is  hard  to  enu¬ 
merate  the  advan¬ 
tages  of  life  in 
Atlanta.  They  are  so 
many  that  it  is  im¬ 
possible  to  catalogue 
them  all  in  brief 
space.  The  climate 
is  the  best  enjoyed  by 
any  city  in  the 
country,  the  spirit  of 
the  people  makes 
anyone  welcome  who 
is  worthy  of  a  wel¬ 
come  anywhere,  and 
the  opportunities  for  business,  education,  culture,  enjoyment 
and  social  pleasure  unsurpassed.  The  institutions  for  the  preserva¬ 
tion  of  order,  sanitation  and  public  comfort  are  excellent.  The  frater¬ 
nities  are  numerously  represented,  and  fraternity  life  is  a  feature  of 
the  city’s  many  attractions. 

Visitors  from  a  distance  are  always  charmed  with  the  residence 
streets  of  Atlanta.  The  homes  are  made  attractive  by  grassy  lawns, 
which  beautify  the  scene  and  avoid  the  heat  of  those  cities  where  solid 
blocks  of  flats  rise  directly  front  the  sidewalk. 

There  are  many  beautiful  suburbs  which  are  easily  and  quickly 
reached  by  the  car  lines,  and  these  are  constantly  extending.  Atlanta 
has  a  fine  market,  supplied  at  all  times  with  fish,  game  and  vegetables, 
and  an  abundance  of  fresh  meats.  The  shops  and  stores  are  up-to-date, 
and  conducted  in  metropolitan  style. 

The  Climate. 

Atlanta  is  on  the  crest  of  the  ridge  dividing  the  watershed  of  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  from  that  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  its  elevation  of 
1,052  feet  gives  a  bracing  atmosphere.  The  mean  annual  temperature, 
based  on  all  available  records,  is  60.8  degrees.  The  highest  annual 
mean  was  64.0  in  1871,  preceded  by  the  lowest,  56.9,  in  1868.  Tjhe 
mean  temperature  of  the  winter  months  is  44.1,  of  the  spring  months, 
60.5,  of  the  summer,  77.0,  and  of  thee  autumn,  61.5.  The  highest  monthly 
mean  was  82.2,  in  July,  1857,  the  lowest,  34.4,  in  February,  1895 


S.  M.  INMAN’S  RESIDENCE. 


35 


36 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


The  warmest  winter  month  was  December,  1889,  with  a  mean  of  57.2; 
the  coolest  summer  month  was  June,  1866,  mean,  68.9.  The  highest 

temperature  on  record  is  100,  which  occurred  on  July  19,  1887,  and  is 
the  only  instance  of  its  kind.  The  lowest  temperature  on  record  is 

— 8.5,  on  February  13,  1899.  The  temperature  has  registered  at  zero, 
or  below,  but  on  three  other  dates  in  the  last  twenty-three  years,  viz : — 
— 1,  January  6,  1884; — 2,  January  11,  1886,  and  zero  February  8,  1895. 

Summer  nights  are  cool  and  the  low  percentage  of  humidity  makes 
the  days  comfortable.  The  average  date  of  first  killing  frost  is  Novem¬ 
ber  4th,  and  of  the  last  in  spring,  March  29th,  leaving  an  average 
growing  season  of  219  days. 

Monthly  Mean  Temperatures. 

The  average  monthly  temperature  for  each  month,  as  shown  by  the 
record  of  many  years,  is  given  below  : 


January  .... 

. 42.6 

July  . 

. 78.6 

February  .  .  . 

. 45-7 

August  . 

. 76.9 

March  . 

. 51-7 

September  .  .  . 

....71.7 

April  . 

. . .  .60.9 

October  . 

— 61.5 

May  . . 

November  .  .  . 

.  .  .  .51.4 

J  une  . 

. 75-6 

December  .  .  .  . 

. 44-i 

Annual  average . 60.8 


WASHINGTON  STREET. 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


37 


Hainfall^by  Months 

The  normal  pre¬ 
cipitation  by  months 
by  the  Weather  Bu¬ 
reau  : 

January  5.10  inch¬ 
es,  February  5.23 
March  5.65,  April 
4.23,  May  3.38,  June 
4.04,  July  4.22,  Au¬ 
gust  4.58,  September 
3.51,  October  2.36, 
November  3.49,  De¬ 
cember  4.29. 

The  annual  averp 
age  rainfall  is  50.08. 

Parks. 

Atlanta  has  sev¬ 
eral  fine  parks  and 
places  of  resort. 

The  L.  P.  Grant 


central  Presbyterian  church.  Park,  on  the  edge  of 

the  city  near  a  battle¬ 
field  of  1864,  is  a  sylvan  retreat  of  rare  beauty,  with  a  Zoo  and  Cyclo- 
rama  added  to  the  attractions  of  nature.  It  is  the  resort  of  picnic  parties 
from  the  surrounding  towns  for  many  miles. 

Piedmont  Park,  the  site  of  fairs  and  expositions,  is  in  the  suburbs, 
half  a  mile  beyond  the  city  limits,  on  one  of  the  battle-grounds  of  the 
Civil  War.  It  has  a  lake  and  a  picturesque  site,  with  a  number  of  large 
buildings. 

Lakewood,  as  its  name  suggests,  affords  opportunity  for  aquatic 
sports.  The  same  is  true  of  East  Lake,  where  there  is  elaborate  pro¬ 
vision  for  bathing.  Ponce  de  Leon  Springs,  within  the  city  limits,  and 
the  Chattahoochee  River,  eight  miles  out,  are  places  of  resort. 

The  Kirkwood  Land  Company  has  in  preparation  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  residence  parks  in  America,  and  Atkins  Park  will  be  another 
place  of  loveliness. 

To  all  these  parks  and  places  of  resort  there  is  an  excellent  street¬ 
car  service.  The  exposition  grounds  at  Piedmont  Park  also  have  con¬ 
nection  with  the  city  by  the  Southern  Railway. 


Fort  McPherson. 


An  Army  post  is  always  an  attraction  because  of  the  parades  and 
the  music,  and  its  disbursements  add  materially  to  a  city’s  income. 


3§ 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


Fort  McPherson,  four  miles  out  on  the  Central  of  Georgia  Railway  and 
two  car  lines,  is  one  of  the  best-constructed  posts  in  the  United  States 
and  much  visited  by  citizens. 

It  is  a  community  in  itself,  with  an  independent  waterworks  system 
and  a  complete  system  of  sewerage.  There  are  permanent  barracks, 
ample  for  one  regiment,  and  during  the  Spanish  War  several  thousand 
soldiers  were  quartered  here  at  one  time  by  using  wooden  barracks  in 
addition.  The  officers'  quarters  are  unusually  good,  and  there  is  a  well- 
appointed  hospital. 

Hospitals. 

In  the  Grady  Hospital  Atlanta  has  a  large  and  well-equipped  insti¬ 
tution  supported  by  the  city.  There  are  in  addition,  St.  Joseph’s  In¬ 
firmary  and  the  Presbyterian  Hospital,  besides  a  number  of  excellent 
sanatoriums  conducted  by  physicians,  notably  those  of  Drs.  Elkin 
and  Cooper,  Dr.  Noble  and  Dr.  Robinson,  the  Halcyon  and  the  Na¬ 
tional  Surgical  Institute. 

Churches. 

Atlanta  has  13 1  churches  and  the  attendance  on  religious  services  is 
one  of  the  noticeable  features  of  the  city’s  life.  This  city  is  headquar- 


CAPITOL  AVENUE — VIEW  FROM  WOODWARD  AVENUE. 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


39 


RESIDENCE  OF  ASA  G.  CANDLER. 

ters  for  several  important  denominational  organizations,  especially 
those  of  missionary  work.  It  is  the  home  of  the  Bishop  of  Georgia, 
Right  Reverend  C.  K.  Nelson  (Episcopal),  and  of  Bishop  W.  A.  Can¬ 
dler  of  the  Methodist  Church. 

The  Baptist  Home  Mission  Board  is  located  here,  and  there  is  a 
similar  organization  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  represented.  The 
Catholic  Marist  College  and  a  convent  are  located  near  the  two  leading- 
churches  of  that  faith. 

The  colored  people  have  two  Bishops  in  Atlanta,  Bishop  W.  J. 
Gaines  and  Bishop  H.  M.  Turner. 

Orphan  Asylums. 

Atlanta  has  four  orphan  asylums.  The  Methodist  Orphan  Asylum 
is  located  at  Decatur,  several  miles  east  of  the  city,  and  the  Baptist 
Orphan  Asylum  is  at  Hapeville,  nine  miles  south  of  Atlanta.  The 
Jewish  Orphan  Asylum  is  within  the  city  limits. 

The  Carrie  Steele  Orphans’  Home  is  an  institution  for  colored 
children  about  three  miles  east  of  the  city. 


4° 


Atlanta — A  Twentieth-Century  City. 


Other  Asylums. 

The  Home  for  the  Friendless  and  the  Florence  Crittenden  Home  for 
unfortunate  women  are  charities  of  a  high  order,  carefully  managed 
under  the  direction  of  some  of  the  best  women  in  Atlanta. 

In  addition  there  are  numerous  free  kindergartens. 


W  V 


■  '  ^  - 


“requiescat  in  pace.” 


GATE  OF  WEST  VIEW  CEMETERY. 


